| your bike with the proper amount of tire pressure | | | | tire, start with 30 - 40 psi. The more you weigh, the |
| can make a vast difference in how much control you | | | | higher pressure you should start with. Try this |
| have over your bike. | | | | pressure for a while and get a feel for how the tires |
| Setting your tire pressure too high will make for poor | | | | take corners and loose dirt. |
| contact with the ground and also make your bicycle | | | | Once you've got a good feel for that setting, lower |
| less controllable. Setting your tire pressure too low | | | | the pressure by 5 psi in each tire and compare how |
| will make your tires erratic and also make them | | | | your tire feels with the earlier setting. You should |
| susceptible to pinch flats. | | | | notice some increase in stability, and if you don't, |
| The correct amount of tire pressure in a bike will | | | | lower the pressure by another 5 psi. |
| differ among riders and different tire setups. Besides | | | | You want to find the lowest pressure you can ride |
| personal preference, two other factors that impact | | | | with without giving up pinch flat resistance. A pinch |
| what your tire pressure should be are the type of | | | | flat happens when the pressure is so low, rolling over |
| trail or street you're on and the condition of that | | | | an object causes the tire and tube to get pinched |
| terrain. | | | | between the rim. |
| The trick here is to find out exactly what bike tire | | | | Of course this means that if you have a tubeless |
| pressure works for you and your setup during normal | | | | system, you won't get a pinch flat and you can |
| conditions. Then you can fine-tune your pressure to | | | | therefore ride with much lower air pressure. Another |
| accommodate different types of terrain and trails. | | | | way to tell if the pressure is too low is if air burps |
| The first thing you should do is get a trustworthy | | | | out along the bead or you can feel the tire roll under |
| pressure gauge, or you can also use a pump with a | | | | the rim when you go around a hard corner. |
| built-in pressure gauge. Then, use this same gauge or | | | | Once you've found a comfortable setting for your |
| pump anytime you are making adjustments. A gauge | | | | tire pressure, learn what your tire feels like when you |
| can be very inexact, so if you switch it around, it can | | | | squeeze it with your hands. If you know what this |
| make it harder to get correct results. | | | | feels like, you can get an air level pretty close, which |
| You should start with a higher pressure of around 40 | | | | is practical if you don't have a gauge with you. |
| - 50 psi. That's for a tire with a tube. For a tubeless | | | | |